Chapter 5
"Who the hell are you?" Kay demanded explanation, shooting off of Reese's lap and pulling herself up to her full height to give the unwelcome stranger a menacing scowl. "The lost Backstreet Boy?"
"I bet you pride yourself on your clever wit," he grinned at her, stepping down the stairs carefully and stopping right in front of her.
Kay took in the low-slung jeans on his narrow waist and the white tank top that showed off his muscular arms. It wasn't until she looked into his piercing blue-green eyes that the light bulb flickered inside her brain. "So…another long-lost Crane deigns us Harmony hicks with his presence," she scoffed.
"Paris and Barcelona lost their appeal a long time ago," he shrugged his shoulders, moving past her and presenting his hand to Reese, who lounged on the sofa in dumbstruck silence. "I don't think we've met. I'm Crane. Adrian Crane."
"Just what Harmony needs," Kay rolled her dark eyes. "Another male with a James Bond complex."
Reese reached a finger up to push invisible glasses further up his nose and grasped Adrian's hand with his other hand. "Reese Durkee."
"And the amorous Mistress Sarcasm? Your girlfriend?" Adrian asked, smirking in her direction.
"Three months, eighteen days, fifteen hours, ten minutes…"
"Wow!" Adrian whistled in appreciation, cutting Reese's proud proclamation off. "Well…I'll leave you kids ALONE," he said in a stage whisper. "You two haven't…yet…that explains the bitchiness…"
"Come on, Reese," Kay gritted out between clenched teeth, furious at Adrian's insinuation. "Mom's expecting us for dinner."
"Nice meeting you," Reese said politely as Kay dragged him out the front door.
Adrian grinned and plopped down on the disheveled sofa, propping his sneakered feet on the coffee table. "The pleasure's all mine," he laughed to himself. He didn't have her name, but he was certain the mouthy brunette was none other than Aunt Sheridan's Kay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ethan, Darling…where is Theresa?" Ivy questioned as she lowered herself to the sofa beside her son.
"She wanted to watch Cook in the kitchen," Ethan frowned.
"Oh," Ivy said with a furrowed brow, then smiled. "How was your day, Darling?"
Ethan's blue eyes lit up as he took his mother's opening and detailed every moment of his day with Theresa, down to exact milliseconds. It was like telling what his day was like at school all over again, and he took the same giddy pleasure in relating it to his mother.
By the time he got to the Book Café incident, Ivy had nodded off, drool dribbling down her chin.
"…and I told her I loved her best. But don't worry, Mother. I had my fingers crossed behind my back. I'll always love you BEST. Mother…Mother?"
Ivy moaned as Ethan shook her shoulder, swatting his hands away. "Dammit, Julian. There isn't enough Viagra in the state of Maine…"
Ethan's brow knit in confusion, and he resumed his gentle shaking. "Mother…Mother, wake up. You missed it. I told you I love you best."
"ETHAN!!!"
Ethan jumped back in fright when an ear-splitting scream left his mother's lips, and she jerked awake, gasping for breath.
Her blue-green eyes slammed shut miserably as she muttered something that made absolutely NO sense to Ethan. "Oh dear God…it wasn't a nightmare."
"Ethan, Ethan, Ethan," Theresa yapped like an over-eager puppy. "Cook's making a cake, and she let me lick the bowl. Here. I brought you the spoon."
Ethan didn't get a chance to respond before his wife practically gagged him with the spoon. "TTThanks," he smiled.
"I'm so thoughtful, aren't I, Ethan?" Theresa bubbled, bouncing into his lap. "Ivy, where are you going?"
"Oh, Theresa," she smiled back at the teen. "I'm going to tell Julian dinner is almost ready. He'll be so thrilled. He's missed you so."
"AAAWWWWW," Theresa cooed. "Ivy, you don't have to do that. I'll go myself so we can spend more quality time together."
"Yes," Ivy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing evilly at the rude awakening that awaited Julian. "Quality time. Take your time, Dear. Cook won't mind serving dinner a little later."
"Okay," Theresa clapped her hands. "Mr. Crane's so lucky to have a wife that's so considerate," she gushed before skipping off for the stairs.
"Theresa! Be…careful," Ethan muttered as those pesky stairs jumped up and hit his beloved bride in the face again.
"It's okay," Theresa hollered, holding a hand to her bleeding nose. "I'm fine!"
Ivy made a mental note. She wondered if companies insured against clumsy family members.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Luis groaned as he felt his wife's bare foot rubbing up and down his calf, and he trapped it between his legs. "Sheridan…"
"What?" she pretended to be clueless. "You have a thing against my feet?" she tried to pout, but ended up laughing as he pulled her warm, naked body atop his.
Luis's hands were restless, traveling up and down her thighs and skimming her sides and breasts as he leaned up to capture her lips with his again. "I love your feet. I love EVERYTHING about you," he said against her lips as she followed him back down to the pillow. "But a man needs more than amazing sex for sustenance if you know what I mean," he teased, tangling his fingers in her messy blond hair and angling his mouth over hers for one last shattering kiss that made her tingle from her head to her toes.
"Pizza?" she mumbled against his neck, draping her body over his and sighing as his hands caressed her back, sweeping lower with each pass.
"No pizza," he said, his laughter rumbling deep within his chest. He smiled into her blue eyes and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I think it's time for another cooking lesson, don't you?"
"Luis," she whined. "You know I'm only good at the easy stuff. Are you really that hungry?"
"Ravenous," he grinned.
"Okay," she huffed, crawling off of him and stuffing her legs into HIS black boxers.
"What am I going to wear?" he laughed, watching her blond head disappear as she pulled on a discarded tee-shirt.
"I, for one, don't see why you can't go au naturelle," she wheedled, wrapping her arms around him when he came to stand in front of her and giving his backside a teasing pinch.
"Aren't you forgetting something? Someone?"
She laughed as she dropped her hands to her sides and walked toward the door. "Luis…she's three months old. And even if she did see SOMETHING…she's a baby. She'll have racy suppressed memories to regale her therapist with when they try to get to the root of her obsession with sexy Latino officers of the law," she teased, ducking away from the pillow he launched at her.
Wouldn't Julian Crane LOVE that, he thought, chuckling to himself as he pulled on a pair of jeans and hurried to follow her.
It'd make for INTERESTING dinner conversation.
"Who the hell are you?" Kay demanded explanation, shooting off of Reese's lap and pulling herself up to her full height to give the unwelcome stranger a menacing scowl. "The lost Backstreet Boy?"
"I bet you pride yourself on your clever wit," he grinned at her, stepping down the stairs carefully and stopping right in front of her.
Kay took in the low-slung jeans on his narrow waist and the white tank top that showed off his muscular arms. It wasn't until she looked into his piercing blue-green eyes that the light bulb flickered inside her brain. "So…another long-lost Crane deigns us Harmony hicks with his presence," she scoffed.
"Paris and Barcelona lost their appeal a long time ago," he shrugged his shoulders, moving past her and presenting his hand to Reese, who lounged on the sofa in dumbstruck silence. "I don't think we've met. I'm Crane. Adrian Crane."
"Just what Harmony needs," Kay rolled her dark eyes. "Another male with a James Bond complex."
Reese reached a finger up to push invisible glasses further up his nose and grasped Adrian's hand with his other hand. "Reese Durkee."
"And the amorous Mistress Sarcasm? Your girlfriend?" Adrian asked, smirking in her direction.
"Three months, eighteen days, fifteen hours, ten minutes…"
"Wow!" Adrian whistled in appreciation, cutting Reese's proud proclamation off. "Well…I'll leave you kids ALONE," he said in a stage whisper. "You two haven't…yet…that explains the bitchiness…"
"Come on, Reese," Kay gritted out between clenched teeth, furious at Adrian's insinuation. "Mom's expecting us for dinner."
"Nice meeting you," Reese said politely as Kay dragged him out the front door.
Adrian grinned and plopped down on the disheveled sofa, propping his sneakered feet on the coffee table. "The pleasure's all mine," he laughed to himself. He didn't have her name, but he was certain the mouthy brunette was none other than Aunt Sheridan's Kay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ethan, Darling…where is Theresa?" Ivy questioned as she lowered herself to the sofa beside her son.
"She wanted to watch Cook in the kitchen," Ethan frowned.
"Oh," Ivy said with a furrowed brow, then smiled. "How was your day, Darling?"
Ethan's blue eyes lit up as he took his mother's opening and detailed every moment of his day with Theresa, down to exact milliseconds. It was like telling what his day was like at school all over again, and he took the same giddy pleasure in relating it to his mother.
By the time he got to the Book Café incident, Ivy had nodded off, drool dribbling down her chin.
"…and I told her I loved her best. But don't worry, Mother. I had my fingers crossed behind my back. I'll always love you BEST. Mother…Mother?"
Ivy moaned as Ethan shook her shoulder, swatting his hands away. "Dammit, Julian. There isn't enough Viagra in the state of Maine…"
Ethan's brow knit in confusion, and he resumed his gentle shaking. "Mother…Mother, wake up. You missed it. I told you I love you best."
"ETHAN!!!"
Ethan jumped back in fright when an ear-splitting scream left his mother's lips, and she jerked awake, gasping for breath.
Her blue-green eyes slammed shut miserably as she muttered something that made absolutely NO sense to Ethan. "Oh dear God…it wasn't a nightmare."
"Ethan, Ethan, Ethan," Theresa yapped like an over-eager puppy. "Cook's making a cake, and she let me lick the bowl. Here. I brought you the spoon."
Ethan didn't get a chance to respond before his wife practically gagged him with the spoon. "TTThanks," he smiled.
"I'm so thoughtful, aren't I, Ethan?" Theresa bubbled, bouncing into his lap. "Ivy, where are you going?"
"Oh, Theresa," she smiled back at the teen. "I'm going to tell Julian dinner is almost ready. He'll be so thrilled. He's missed you so."
"AAAWWWWW," Theresa cooed. "Ivy, you don't have to do that. I'll go myself so we can spend more quality time together."
"Yes," Ivy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing evilly at the rude awakening that awaited Julian. "Quality time. Take your time, Dear. Cook won't mind serving dinner a little later."
"Okay," Theresa clapped her hands. "Mr. Crane's so lucky to have a wife that's so considerate," she gushed before skipping off for the stairs.
"Theresa! Be…careful," Ethan muttered as those pesky stairs jumped up and hit his beloved bride in the face again.
"It's okay," Theresa hollered, holding a hand to her bleeding nose. "I'm fine!"
Ivy made a mental note. She wondered if companies insured against clumsy family members.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Luis groaned as he felt his wife's bare foot rubbing up and down his calf, and he trapped it between his legs. "Sheridan…"
"What?" she pretended to be clueless. "You have a thing against my feet?" she tried to pout, but ended up laughing as he pulled her warm, naked body atop his.
Luis's hands were restless, traveling up and down her thighs and skimming her sides and breasts as he leaned up to capture her lips with his again. "I love your feet. I love EVERYTHING about you," he said against her lips as she followed him back down to the pillow. "But a man needs more than amazing sex for sustenance if you know what I mean," he teased, tangling his fingers in her messy blond hair and angling his mouth over hers for one last shattering kiss that made her tingle from her head to her toes.
"Pizza?" she mumbled against his neck, draping her body over his and sighing as his hands caressed her back, sweeping lower with each pass.
"No pizza," he said, his laughter rumbling deep within his chest. He smiled into her blue eyes and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I think it's time for another cooking lesson, don't you?"
"Luis," she whined. "You know I'm only good at the easy stuff. Are you really that hungry?"
"Ravenous," he grinned.
"Okay," she huffed, crawling off of him and stuffing her legs into HIS black boxers.
"What am I going to wear?" he laughed, watching her blond head disappear as she pulled on a discarded tee-shirt.
"I, for one, don't see why you can't go au naturelle," she wheedled, wrapping her arms around him when he came to stand in front of her and giving his backside a teasing pinch.
"Aren't you forgetting something? Someone?"
She laughed as she dropped her hands to her sides and walked toward the door. "Luis…she's three months old. And even if she did see SOMETHING…she's a baby. She'll have racy suppressed memories to regale her therapist with when they try to get to the root of her obsession with sexy Latino officers of the law," she teased, ducking away from the pillow he launched at her.
Wouldn't Julian Crane LOVE that, he thought, chuckling to himself as he pulled on a pair of jeans and hurried to follow her.
It'd make for INTERESTING dinner conversation.